TOUR 2009, SP2, 2016 Tutor:   Executive summary Hired as a consultant for St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, I was to attend their event, observe the festival and experience everything they had on offer as a secret shopper. I was then asked report on my best and worst experience and make recommendations on how to improve the festival. This report examines St. Jerome's Laneway Festival history in Australia and its expansion nationally and internationally; beginning in 2004 as a small bar in Melbourne and over the next twelve years, becoming one of Australia’s most loved and successful music festivals. St. Jerome's Laneway Festival vison, mission and goal will be examined for its current and future festivals; sold out festivals in each city, maximum profitability and a positive and memorable experience for all patrons. A strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted determining Laneway’s strengths as a well-established indie music festival in Adelaide and around Australia; its weakness as unique music genres and the possibility of hot weather; opportunities of Laneway include brand awareness for sponsor and a promotion opportunity for new and upcoming artists; Laneway’s success is threatened by competition from other music festivals, as well as, ticket prices restricting people attending if they are too expensive. Laneway’s best and most memorable experience was the artists that preformed; the artists preforming on a large stage with a large view area and sound quality. Laneway’s worst experience was the venue’s limited seating and shaded areas, poor signage and un-hygienic bathroom facilities that left a lasting impression on a festivalgoer. Recommendations to improve the festival consisted of extending the festival to a two-day event, with the possibility on more artists attending, as well as extending the festival, it is recommending that the festival have a bigger advertisement campaign to reach more people, in the hopes to have more people attend the festival. Recommendations made to improve the more negative aspects of the festival consisted of the employment of cleaners for the bathrooms for throughout the duration of the festival, the additionof artificial structures that you shield patrons from the sun, preventing them from being sun burnt and the addition of signs to help attendees of the festival to navigate around the venue. Contents Executive summary 1 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 3 2.1 Vison/mission/goals 4 2.2 Key target market and motivations 4 2.3 SWOT analysis 4 3.0 Best experiences 5 4.0 Worst experience 6 5.0 Recommendations 6 6.0 Conclusion 7 References 9 Appendices 10 1.0 Introduction This report provides a critical analysis and reflection of the St. Jerome's Laneway Festival (Laneway). The event’s organisers have hired me to consult on their music festival; as their consultant I have been tasked to attend, observe and experience the event as a secret shopper. Laneway is Adelaide’s leading indie music festival, and has been held in the city for the last nine years and at Hearts Mill in Port Adelaide for the last two. It was founded and run by Jerome Borazio and Danny Rogers; the festival is attended by people aged 16 to 50 and has a wide range of musical acts, consisting of many different genres. I am to report on my findings to the organisers and make recommendations on how to improve the festival or how to capitalise on aspects of the festival that were already successful. This report will examine my best and worst experiences; artists that preformed (best experience) and the venue (worst experience), in relation to servicescape and crowd management, queuing management and event signage; as well as size and location of the event, the goals of the festival, the target market of the event and will provide a strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis on the internal and external environmental factors. 2.0 St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Laneway began in 2004, as a weekly event held in a small bar in Melbourne owned and operated by Jerome Borazio.However, it wasn’t until 2005 and the addition of Danny Rogers (Adelaide.lanewayfestival.com, 2016), that the festival gained more popularity and success. In its first official year as a festival (2005), Laneway attracted 1400 festivalgoers and headlined eight artists. Over the next twelve years, the festival extended to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Auckland (NZ), Singapore (SGP)and Detroit (USA)(Adelaide.lanewayfestival.com, 2016). And as the festival grew, so did the number of artist that preformed, as well as the number of people that attended the event; Laneway is a festival that presents a diverse number are artists, in a wide range on genres. As of 2016,8000 people attended Laneway in Adelaide (Our Port, 2016) and had thirty-four artist preform and was held in Harts Mill, Port Adelaide (appendix 1). Hearts Mill is a reclaimed industrial site; it is a perfect blend of an industrial aesthetic meets open green spaces, the picture-perfect setting for Laneway’s laid back indie vibe (appendix 3&4). The people who attend Laneway are seeking a relaxed environment where that can listen to a wide range of music, browse the market stalls (appendix 5) and have the chance to eat a large selection of food (appendix 6). 2.1 Vison/mission/goals Lanewaystrives to be Australia’s leading music festival and Adelaide’s premier indie music festival, with new and exciting music for festivalgoers to experience, with a diverse range of genres. Laneway brings people together through their shared loved of varied music genres, allowing people to experience artist exclusively presented by Laneway. The main goals for Laneway 2016 are a sold-out festival, achieving maximum profitability for all vendors, a fresh new range of artists, a safe and comfortable environment for festivalgoers, and a positive and memorable experience for all attendees. 2.2 Key target market and motivations Adelaide’s Laneway festival had a large target audience, through both age demographic and musical taste. While the event’s minimum ageissixteen, people of all ages attended the festival; although the festival seems to market at in their late teens and 20s, the music genres played at the festival (indie pop, rock and independent music) appeal to all ages. The key motivation for an individual to attend Laneway is for the festival experience, meeting new people and exposing one’s self to a new environment. Although Laneway is held in several Australian cities, people from Adelaide choose to attend the festival in Adelaide not only for convenience but for the atmosphere that the Adelaide festival has to offer; the location (Hearts Mill) of the festival and the support that they shall give to the local vendors. 2.3 SWOT analysis Table 1: SWOT analysis Strengths • Big name artist attended the event, as well as lesser known artists. • Laneway is Adelaide’s leading indie music festival. • Well established festival in Adelaide and around Australia. • Large number of people who attend the event. • Held in early February, the weather is ideal for a festival. Weaknesses • The festival can become quite costly. • The music genre of the festival doesn’t’ appeal to everyone. • Laneway’s location at Port Adelaide is somewhat difficult for people to travel to. • At all music festivals there is always a possibility of artists cancelling their appearance • Laneway is held in February hot weather can affect the overall experience of the event. Opportunities • Food and beverage vendors promote their business • A chance for new or upcoming musicians to promote themselves • Music festivals are a popular event in Australia • Profitable event for everyone involved. • Opportunity for big name brands to sponsor and support the festival. Threats • Competition with other music festivals held in Adelaide at the same time. • Traffic restrictions for local residents • Hot weather can effect festivalgoers experience • Public transport to the venue can be limited • Price of the tickets can impact number of people attending the festival As seen in table 1, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Laneway have been established. Through this SWOT analysis, a C-PEST analysis has been conducted and shows that Laneway has very little external environmental issues apart from some complaints by the locals about traffic restrictions, price of the tickets (through both economic and socio-cultural factors), hot weather and competition of other festivals. 3.0 Best experiences The best experience of Laneway was the 34 artists that preformed throughout the day, each act having their own unique sound in their respective genres. Many of the artists involved in the festival only toured with Laneway, providing the only opportunity for me to see my favourite band. The more popular artists were spaced out through the day and played during the evening, avoiding major clashes. The venue held four stages (appendix 1) were large enough to see the artists/ bands no matter where I was standing in the mosh pit or at the edge of the crowd (Höglund, Rosander and Säterhed, 2013), through the positive use of crowd management (Getz, 2005) I was able to enjoy each performer. While I did not require any special needs access, the festival did provide viewing area at the front of the stage for people who were wheelchair bound. Although the stages were spaced out throughout the venue, sound from other stages did not carry very far, allowing me to experience one act at a time. Lee’s (2008) explanation of environmental dimension, ambient conditions (noise and music)can be applied to my positive experience of watching the artists preform, if music carried from other stages, I would not have been able to fully enjoy a single artist at a time.The acts that I attended in the late afternoon and night, were the best performance due to the stage having better layout and being able to use lighting effectively (appendix 7&8), whereas during in the day the performance had little to no visual effects and solely relied on their stage presents.I believe that the artists were my most positive experience because, there were the sole purpose of me purchasing a ticket and attending the event and spend money of food and beverage vendors throughout the day, as well as souvenirs available. 4.0 Worst experience My wort experience at Laneway was the venue itself, offering poor seating choices, limited shaded areas, little to no signage for the four different stages and the facilities (female exclusive) where in an appalling state, with long waiting times. As festivals attract a large number of people, throughout the day/night, the facilities become quiet an issue, Laneway’s queuing management (Getz, 2005) was quiet poor when it came to this issue.Large crowds and long waiting times made wanting to go to the bathroom quiet uncomfortableexperience for me and by the end of the night, there was no toilet paper left and in the portaloos, there was only natural lighting, providing it hard to see what you were doing, coupled with limited use of items to wash your hands. Although the venue was quiet large and had a very practicallayout there was very little signage(Earl, Parker and Capra, 2005), providing it difficult to navigate throughout the site; no visual aids for helping patrons navigate the venue, however there were staff and volunteers onsite to consult. The biggest criticism of the event was the poor seating optionsand limited shading areas; some tables and chairs were supplied (appendix 3) however, considering the amount of people that attended the festival there simply wasn’t enough for everyone, especially in the food hall, only providing approximately 20-30 tables and chair for people to eat their meals at. As for undercover shading areas it was limited and considering the time of year that the festival was held and the weather that was expected, many of the festivalgoers got severely sun burnt, negatively impacting their festival experience. I believe that the venue was my worst experience because by having to endure poor seating, limited shade, lack of directions and unsanitary facilities, made me want to leave the festival early. They affected me so much that I did not care whether I saw the artists and bands that I had come to see. 5.0 Recommendations There were many factors that contributed to my mostly positive experiences of Laneway, however, there is always room to improve. Firstly,to make the event more profitable, and prolong patron’s involvement, I would recommend that the event is extended over two days. By having a two-day event and using the expectation-disconfirmation model, Laneway can optimise people’s expectation of the event, improve their performance (artists&bands and as a music festival) and their customers’ satisfaction. By having a two-day festival, this creates the opportunity for Laneway to attract more artists, expanding the festival’s genres, attracting more people. As for attracting more festivalgoers, a larger advertisement campaign could be adopted; instead of just relying on its reputation and word of mouth, Laneway could use more old-school media (television advertisement, newspaper/magazines adverts) to promote their festival. Although Hearts Mill is a unique and well liked location to hold Laneway, the venue is lacking inadequate seating and shade for majority of is patrons. This could be rectified by investing in artificial shading (tents/marquees/shade cloths), by doing this, it can significantly reduce the risk of patron’s getting sunburnt, and providing relief from the hot summer sun. By providing more seating for festivalgoers it can make waiting for friends or the next musical act much more comfortable. Reducing confusion amongst their patrons, it is recommended that more signage is provided for the event, specifically for the four stages. This can be done by using a simple sign or by incorporating Laneway’s indie vibe into an artistically interactive sign, giving directions.Having clean and hygiene facilities is important and they need to stay like that throughout the day; employing cleaners that move through the bathrooms (both male and female) throughout the day, will make going to the bathroom during the festival not such an uncomfortable experience. By making these improvements, I would be more willing to attend the festival annually, spend money on a ticket, food & beverages and souvenirs, contributing to the festivals successfulness, instead of a non-repeat customer who had a mediocre experience. 6.0 Conclusion St. Jerome's Laneway Festival is already a well-established music festival throughout Australia, New Zealand (Auckland) and the United States of America (Detroit) and as their consultant, I have attended, observed and experience everything that the Adelaide festival has to offer and have provided my best and worst experience as well as recommendations. A SWOT analysis of the festival showed that Laneway has many strengths (large number of people who attend the event and held in early February, the weather is ideal for a festival), however, with strengths comes weaknesses (the music genre of the festival doesn’t’ appeal to everyone and at all music festivals there is always a possibility of artists cancelling their appearance). Laneway also comes with many opportunities (profitable event for everyone involved and opportunity for big name brands to sponsor and support the festival) and threats (competition with other music festivals held in Adelaide at the same time and price of the tickets can impact number of people attending the festival). The best experience of the festival was the artists that preformed, analysed through the use of crowd management, festivalscapes and environmental dimension. The worst experience of the event was the venue’s lack of seating, shade, signage and hygienic bathroom facilities, analysed by using event signage, queueing management and crowd management. St. Jerome's Laneway Festival is a successful event with many positive attributes, however there is still room for improvement for this leading Adelaide music festival. References Earl, C., Parker, E. and Capra, M., 2005, The Management of Crowds and Other Risks at Outdoor Music Festivals: A Review of the Literature, Environmental Health the Journal of the Australian Institute of Environmental Health, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.37-49. Galvin, H. (2015), Our Laneway Festival 2015 Rumour Mill. Purple Sneakers, 21-5-2016, http://www.purplesneakers.com.au/2014/10/laneway-festival-2015-rumour-mill/ Getz, D, 2005, Event Management and tourism, 2nd ed., Cognizant Communication Corporation, New York.1 Höglund, F., Rosander, M. and Säterhed, P. 2013, The Use of Resilience Strategies in Crowd Management at a Music Festival - and the safety organization’s role in avoiding crowd conflict. PH.D. Linköping University. Lee, Y., Lee, C., Lee, S. &Babin, B. J 2008, Festivalscapes and patrons’ emotions, satisfaction and loyalty, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 56-64 Noble, K. (2013), Port Adelaide New Home to St Jermone’s Laneway Festival. Glam Adelaide, Best South Australian News, 20-5-2016 http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/port-adelaide-new-home-to-st-jermones-laneway-festival/ Our Port. (2016), St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2016 Event Gallery. Our Port, 21-5-2016, http://ourport.com.au/news/st-jeromes-laneway-festival-2016-event-gallery/ Appendices St Jerome's Laneway Festival (2016)http://adelaide.lanewayfestival.com/more-info/history/ 1. Birdseye Studios (2016)http://www.birdseyestudios.com.au/projects/harts-mill-surrounds-port-adelaide-sa 2. Laneway festival 3. Adelaide Laneway Festival marketshttps://www.facebook.com/lanewayfestival/photos/a.10153964155338833.1073741851.44051973832/10153964155468833/?type=3&theater 4. Laneway Festival food truckshttps://www.facebook.com/lanewayfestival/photos/a.10153964155338833.1073741851.44051973832/10153964159763833/?type=3&theater 5. Laneway Festival Adelaide, Purity Ring 6. Laneway Festival Adelaide, Grimes